Cats pull of hard fought win over the Blues

Saturday, February 23 2019 @ 05:46 pm ACDT

The Geelong Cats pulled off a hard fought five point win over Carlton at the GMHBA Stadium in a fine day in Geelong.

It was a top of the table Conference B clash between the Cats and Blues and the contest lived up to it all match long.

Rochelle Cranston led the way in the midfield with her pressure for the Cats.

Image Source: Darrian Traynor

It was a tough contest to start the match with both teams playing strong football in and around the contest.

The Cats were the only team to score a goal and this came late in the quarter from the boot of Phoebe McWilliams who slotted the goal through from 40m out.

There were two big collisions in the first quarter that involved Sarah Hosking who applied head high contact on Jordan Ivey and Aasta O’Connor elbowed Nicola Stevens in the head. Both incidents will be looked at by the MRP.

At quarter time, the Cats were up by a goal.

The Cats continued to control general play and applied greater forward pressure than the Blues and this is what separated the two teams in the first half.

In the second term, the Cats booted the only goal and kept the Blues goalless.

Rochelle Cranston tackling prowess came into play in the second term.

Sophie Van de Heuvel stopped the Blues, as they tried to get the football out of defense with a superb run down tackle.

Van de Heuvel was rewarded with her first AFLW goal.

At the main break the Cats led by 14 points.

The Blues dominated proceedings in the third term with immense pressure and impressive tackling.

They had lots of inside 50s for one goal and kept the Cats scoreless in a fine third term.

The Blues were rewarded for all their efforts with a Katie Loynes goal.

Loynes was able to break away from the pack in the Blues ninth inside 50 and put through the Blues first goal of the match.

The Cats held a slender lead of four points at three quarter time.

In the last quarter the Blues continued to control the play.

Madeleine Boyd with a bump on Jess Hosking and Hosking was on her haunches slow to get up.

The Blues came hard at the Cats but the Cats were able to hold on and defeat the Blues by five points at the GMHBA Stadium.

This win now has the Cats sitting top of the Conference B ladder.

Cranston was amazing all match long with her ferocity in and around the contest especially with her tackling.

GEELONG 1.0 2.4 2.4 2.7 (19)

CARLTON 0.0 0.2 1.6 1.8 (14)

GOALS

Geelong: McWilliams, Van De Heuvel

Carlton: Loynes

BEST

Geelong: McWilliams, Garing, Cranston, Keryk, McMahon

Carlton: Davey, Pound, Prespakis, Harrington

INJURIES

Geelong: Nil

Carlton: Nil

Reports: S.Hosking (Carlton) for forceful front-on contact on J.Ivey (Geelong) in the first quarter. M.Boyd (Geelong) for rough conduct on J.Hosking (Carlton) in the fourth quarter